THE REALM
by QuidditchMoke
Summary: Suze doesn't want Jesse to leave, and she's doing all she can to prevent it. But when an unexpected ghost comes to visit her, Paul's constant attempts to break the two of them up are seen in a whole new light...CHAPTER NINE UP!
1. Cee Cee informed

**THE REALM **

"Okay, Cee Cee," I said, "I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything. But you have to SWEAR you won't tell anyone."

            Cee Cee raised her almost invisible eyebrows so high they nearly disappeared in her pale, blond hair. "Excuse me?" She asked, in a kind of Say-that-again-and-I'll-break-your-face tone of voice. "I'm a journalist. I only keep things secret if I want to."

            "Cee Cee," I said, "Come on. Don't even joke about it. No one can know."

            "Alright, fine," She snapped. "Now will you ditch the dirt already?"

            "Okay," I didn't know where to begin. How about, the truth, Suze? Well, could it hurt? I mean it wasn't like anyone would think I was crazy or anything. Not. Please, my own mother had sent me to a shrink thinking I was crazy. I guess it's not her fault, though. I mean, it must have sounded pretty strange.

            "I'm a mediator." Wow, that one kind of amazed me. I mean, it was so upfront and honest. Gosh.

            Cee Cee was raising her eyebrows again. For an albino, it's pretty noticeable when she wears invisible-feature expressions. And what's scary is that I can read every one of them. This one was clearly an Am-I-supposed-to-understand-that? Look.

            "A mediator," I repeated. "A liaison between the living and the dead. I can see, speak to, and even touch ghosts. I'm supposed to help them move on from this plane to the next. On to heaven, hell, their next life, or whatever there is up there." I gestured towards the sky.

            "Wow." Said Cee Cee, "I guess that explains a lot. I mean, about everything. Well, parts of everything, anyway. The reason you were getting that cat, the reason you had me do that article about the Diegos for the Carmel Pine Cone, and of course the whole hot tub party thing last week. All had to do with mediating, huh?"

            I grimaced. I had been trying to forget about the party my stepbrother Brad had thrown to inaugurate our new pool. Two ghosts had decided to show up and, well…vent.

            "But what I don't get," She continued, "is where that guy Jesse fits into all this. I mean, you said you liked him, and I know he's a ghost and all, but, where do he and Paul Slater come into the picture of this whole mediator thing?"

            Great, I thought. Just what I want to do. Go through all the fabulous details of that again. Not that I had gone through them many times, except once for Father Dominic, our school principal and fellow mediator.

            But I still did it. I told Cee Cee how Jesse had been living in my bedroom since I moved to Carmel, California from New York City. I told her how Jesse had been engaged to his cousin Maria (A fact that still grosses me out, cause having met Maria, I knew she was a complete bitch, and come _on_? I mean his _cousin_?? Ew!) and she had had him killed for breaking off the engagement (never mind that she was in love with another guy who happened to be the Spaz of the Year). I told her about Maria's return during the summer where she had nearly killed me three times. Once in my bed with a knife, a second time by having her boyfriend Felix Diego throw me off a roof, and a third by her exorcising Jesse and driving me to get myself exorcised so I could go get him. Then I told her how I'd found out about Paul being in cahoots with the two of them all along. And, oh yeah,                  the part where he pretty much left me and his own brother to die on the spectral plane. Then I told her how he'd appeared weeks later, in Carmel, in our school at the Junipero Serra Mission Academy. I decided to mention the part where he showed up at the party and provoked Jesse into beating the heck out of him. Not that I had minded, under the circumstances.

            "And, he says he knows all this stuff about mediating, and he can teach me, but I won't do it unless he leaves Jesse alone, and I know I shouldn't, but he seems to really regret what he did, only I can't believe that, and I kind of do want to learn what stuff he knows, and--"

            "Suze!" Cee Cee cut me off. Good thing, too, because I was babbling again. Why do I always do that? Babble, I mean.

            "Suze, I think you should steer clear of Paul Slater for a while. I mean, sounds like the guy is bad news. Real bad news."

            I nodded, silently. I figured if I opened my mouth again I might just spit out enough words to make a pot of alphabet soup the size of Nevada.

            "But you still haven't explained everything about Jesse," Cee Cee said slyly, "You liked him last time I checked, and you haven't said much about the topic of the two of you. _Together_."

            I sighed. This was the part I had been hoping to avoid. I trusted Cee Cee and all, but I wasn't sure that I was ready to spill my whole personal life to her. Especially, since it involves a ghost which she can't see. Still, I tried. I guess I was on a roll.

            "Well," I searched for the right words. "Jesse and I were just friends, up until around when Gina came to visit." Gina was my best friend since kindergarten from New York. She and my stepbrother David (or Doc as I like to call him) are the only ones with even a slight clue about the mediator thing. Jesse spoke to Doc once, and _Gina_ doesn't even know about Jesse.

            "Anyway, when I was in the hospital," Thanks to a few rotten ghosts, "something happened and, I fell in love with him." Are you insane, Suze?? You're using the L word!! Why????

            "And then during the summer….we kissed." I gave a moment for that to sink in. I mean, it'd been a pretty big surprise to me, too, and I was living it!

            But it didn't seem to surprise Cee Cee, though her eyes had kind of glazed over with that look we girls always get when reading romantic novels or watching chic flicks where the guy and girl _finally_ get together.

            "But then, he didn't want to talk much for a while, and he even apologized for the kiss. That's where the bad part comes in. You know when I disappeared at the thing got Father Serra last week? Yeah well, I went to Jesse's grave in the courtyard. He was there. And I found out that…he feels the same way about me that I do about him." I gave that longer to sink in, because I was _really_ having trouble believing it.

            "Only now, he has to move into the rectory, because he told Father Dom he would, only he said that before we found out we were in love, and I don't want him to go, and he doesn't want to either, but Father Dom doesn't have a clue--"

            "SUZE!" I breathed I sigh of relief. This babbling thing will be the death of me. Anyway, the good thing was that Cee Cee always had a plan, and I definitely wanted to hear the one she had for stopping Jesse from having to move to the rectory.

            "All right," she said calmly, her purple eyes thoughtful behind the lenses of her glasses. I like Cee Cee's eyes. We make a cool team with all our differences. I have green eyes (like emeralds, my mom tells me) and she has purple, I have brown hair and she has pale blond, I _live_ for fashion and Cee Cee…well, doesn't. Shhh…she's talking!

            "What you need to do, is….tell Father Dom the truth," she said it with a slight tone of resignation. I didn't like that tone. It was like we were giving up or something. I did not want to give up on Jesse.

            "But…" I stammered, "There has to be another way! I mean, come on, Father D's cool and all, but he's a priest, and he took a vow of celibacy…" I didn't mention that he had, in fact taken that vow because he had fallen in love with a ghost and things didn't really work out. If Jesse moved on or moved into the rectory, I wouldn't be able to love again either. And then I'll have to become a nun to show it. Oh, my God, no.

            "I'm sorry, Suze," Cee Cee replied, "But I really can't think of anything else you can do to save your…relationship with Jesse." I guess she didn't know what else to call it. Not that I did, either.


	2. Jesse's advice

I went home feeling confused. I mean, I was relieved that I had been able to tell Cee Cee and I felt a lot better because she knew about Jesse and all. But I felt bad because I still had no clue how to stop the love of my life from moving into the rectory. Sure, he could dematerialize from the place anytime he wanted to, but Father Dom might call him back, forbid him to see him, maybe even exorcise him. Well, OK, maybe not. But what if he put like, a no-ghost-traffic charm on the place? What? It could happen!

            Okay, stop laughing.

            On the other hand, going home these days always made me feel all bubbly inside because I knew what I was going home to: A guy who was over the moon about me. And frankly, how many of us have that in our home? How many are _allowed_ to?

            I closed the door of 99 Pine Crest Drive with a slam, then yelled that I was home. Like my stepbrothers cared. As if.

            I looked around at my home. I don't know why, but I just felt like I hadn't really examined it in a long time. I always ended up looking for clues about Jesse's death (Yup, he was murdered in our house: a converted nineteenth century boarding house) or sneaking out to find some dumb ghost.

            I went out to the hot tub Andy (my stepdad) had installed that summer. It looked pretty innocent, considering the fact that not too long ago, it had been host to half the junior class of the Junipero Serra Mission Academy. And, their beer.

            Anyway, giving myself a tour of my own house got a little boring, so I went up to my room, all giddy because you-know-who was going to be there, on the window sill, waiting for me, and…

            …waiting to find out what I had said to Cee Cee, and whether or not she could help us keep him around.  Aw, crud.

            "_Buenos tardes, querida_," Jesse greeted me. He had called me _Dear One_ in Spanish. I wonder if I could call him, Oh-Killer-Abbed-One? Well, I didn't.

            "Hey, Jesse," I said, and settled for a quick kiss. Not that I wanted quick to be the word to describe it, but still. It _was_ on the lips. And it was better than nothing. "What've you been doing?"

            "Susannah," He raised his scarred eyebrow at me. Don't worry, it's not like it looked bad. If anything, it made him look all the more hot. I mean, seriously, Jesse is six feet tall, with dark hair you just feel like you _have_ to run your fingers through, eyes you could just drown in, and the most fabulous smile. Oh, and, a fantastic set of muscles, even considering the lack of _Fitness Made Simple_ in his time. "Susannah, what did your friend want to know? Miss Webbs?"

            "Call her Cee Cee," I suggested. I figured it was a good place to start. "And she wanted to know the truth. You know, about my being a mediator?" I said that last part to respond to the look of bewilderment that Jesse gave me. Still, even when he's puzzled, Jesse looks fantastic. How could I let him move into the rectory?

            "She says that, the only way to keep you from moving into the rectory is to tell Father D the truth." Jesse didn't look very perturbed about this. He raised his eyebrows (both, this time) and just said, "And are you going to?"

            "Going to what?" I asked, though I knew perfectly well.

            "Tell Father Dominic."

            "Um…." So I didn't want to. But you don't get it. I mean, Father Dom is a _priest_. He doesn't get anything about romance or love, and he thinks it's indecent or something to have guys and girls mingling and all. Seriously, it took him forever to agree to Jesse staying with me. What made Cee Cee think that he would agree to let us live together if we were in _love_??

            "Look, Jesse," I said, "There has to be another way. Something we haven't thought of yet. Maybe we could tell Father Dom that we talked about the kiss and we sorted everything out? Maybe we could tell him it meant nothing and we've moved on!" HA! As if?

            "No, _querida_," Jesse smiled wryly. "Just try to tell Father Dominic the truth. Maybe he will understand."

            "And maybe he won't." I said in a childish tone. "Jesse what if telling him just makes the man more assured that you _should_ leave? What if he makes you do it earlier? I really don't want you to leave." I sat down on the bed, suddenly weighed down with problems. Who knew this was how my junior year would kick off?

            Jesse was doing his best to be sympathetic. He knew how I felt, but he trusted Father Dominic more to let us be together. And he didn't even _know_ about the priest's teenage ghost love. "Susannah, just try. If he won't let us be together, then I'm afraid we will still be together…against his wishes." I looked up. Jesse had never seemed like the kind of person that would defy the rules. And rules set by a _priest_, no less. And he was doing it for me! Me, Suze Simon, teenage freak. Only to Jesse, I wasn't a freak. He knew exactly what I was and he didn't find it remotely strange. Then again, he lived in a time where people married their cousins. Not too reassuring, but I was trying not to think about that part.

            "Are you sure that you want me to ask?" I didn't want him to have second thoughts about something this important.

            But Jesse just smiled. "Yes, _querida_, I am sure."

            So that was how it would have to be. I was going to tell Father Dom the truth, and if he couldn't handle the truth (haha, get it?) then he was just going to have to live with it anyway, because Jesse and I didn't need his permission to be a couple.

            I thought maybe I was overreacting. I mean, how bad could it be? Maybe Father Dom would understand, and he'd sympathize and let us be together.

            Yeah, right.


	3. The Great Big Purple Whopper

"Susannah Simon," The secretary said, "You may go in."

I had been in the waiting room outside the school office. I had been dreading going in for the past half hour, (two kids who had decided to tattoo their girlfriends' names onto the lockers instead of on their own shoulders were getting a severe lecture) because I knew that I was going in to tell Father Dominic the truth. Oh, god, the truth.

I'd gone over the words a million times in my mind. Exactly how I was going to tell him, and how I was going to make him agree. If he said no, then I'd ask him to do it for the ghost-girl-he-once-loved. It was kind of low, but this was a pretty big deal. I had begged Jesse to come along, but he said that would show Father Dominic how much we cared about each other, and we had to downplay that part. Personally, I thought it was pretty much impossible to downplay love, and that Father D would figure that we wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of telling him how we felt about each other if we weren't dead serious.

The secretary gave me a Well-are-you-going-to-get-a-move-on-or-am-I-going-to-have-to-get-physical look. I stood up, sucked in my nervousness, and pushed open the door to Father Dom's office.

"Hello, Susannah," he said, in a rather surprised voice. I guess it was because I had never come to talk to him or visit him on my own will. Then again, I had never stood on my head and blown cheese bubbles out through my ears, and I'd always thought that I would sooner do something like that than what I was about to do.

"How are you Susannah?" he asked in a concerned voice, a fatherly look of care in his blue eyes. For a man knocking on sixty, Father D looks pretty good. I bet there were plenty of times when Sister Ernestine was wishing she hadn't become a nun. "After what happened at your brother's…er…_party_ last weekend, I was wondering if you were alright. Susannah, how could you have been drinking?"

"I wasn't drinking, Father D!" I cried indignantly.

"Then why were you found unconscious next to the pool? What could you possibly have done that rendered you unconscious?"

Damn! This was what I had hoped would not come up. Because Father D didn't know what Paul had told me at his house the other day. Father D didn't even know I'd been at Paul Slater's house! I mean, it's not like I could've told him, because he just wouldn't have understood how badly I'd wanted to know the secrets about mediation that Paul knew. Because Father Dom was an ordinary mediator. Paul and I, as I had come to know, were a little bit more than that.

            I hadn't told Father Dom or Cee Cee about Paul's jumping me on his bedspread that day at his house. Heck, I hadn't even told _Jesse_, because that would just make him more and more homicidal towards Paul. (Of course, in the end, Paul himself rubbed it in Jesse's face, but my fabulous boyfriend had understood. He was still more homicidal towards Paul, though. Not like I had any problems with that.)  But don't worry, just because I was having, like, a truth spell, didn't mean that I was going to tell Father Dom that Paul Slater was a sexual predator with a hidden agenda. But I did decide to tell Father D at least a fraction of the truth.

            "I was shifting, Father Dom," was what I said. Yeah, did I forget to mention that part? You know, the fact that I can move freely between this plane of existence and the next? Yeah, well I can. And so could Paul. That day at the pool party, I had had no choice but to stop the chaos by shifting to the dark, foggy corridor where Paul had tried to kill me. And when your soul happens to be in a different dimension, your body tends to have the appearance of being, well…dead. I had woken up after being unconscious to find myself next to the pool with a splitting headache. Father D didn't know any of that, which I guess would explain the fact that he was raising his eyebrows at me (Why does everyone keep doing that?).

            "Shifting," I repeated, "Moving freely between the realm of the living and the dead. With_out _being exorcised. It's something Paul showed me I can do, and he can too. That day at the party, Jesse, Paul, and two brothers I was mediating were all fighting, and so I just grabbed two of them and pictured the place I wanted to shift to, and…we were there."

            Father Dom stared incredulously at me. Hey, I don't blame him. It _was_ pretty farfetched story…even for someone who can see dead people. But Father Dominic believed it.

            "Susannah…I…you…when…shifting…how extraordinary…no exorcism…and Paul…_shifting_…" He went on like that for about a minute. And frankly, Father D's fragmented thoughts made less sense than my babbling, and _that, _my friends, is saying something. But, since he finally chose to stop, I continued.

            "Remember when you exorcised me? And that my soul was walking around freely like ghost, but my body was lying unconscious where I had been exorcised? Well, shifting creates the same illusion. My soul is in a different realm, but my body's just lying unconscious, giving the impression that I'm temporarily…dead."

            Father Dom looked at me like he had never seen me before in his life. After a bit more awed stuttering, he finally managed to get his tongue around some words.

            "Susannah, I…it…..how did you come to know about this?" He finally decided on that question. I guess he didn't find "Paul told me" an adequate enough explanation.

            "Well, Paul showed me some old newspapers with the theory of a man called Dr. Slaski." Who just happens to be Paul's Maybe-I'm-lucid-or-maybe-I-want-to-drool-and-watch-TV grandfather. "Anyway, Dr. Slaski was a shifter, and he first introduced the theory of them. Paul's one too, and it turns out that Slaski's his grandpa. I found that out because Dr. Slaski came to the feast of Father Serra last week, only he told me that shifting is dangerous and it can kill me, but _Paul_ doesn't know that and his grandfather thinks he's a fool and--"

            "Susannah." Father D seemed to have come to his senses. "I would advise you to listen to Dr. Slat--Slaski. He was, after all, according to what you are saying, one of the first shifters. He knows better what he is doing. So for the time being, do not shift, and do _not_ listen to Paul Slater."

            I nodded, looking down at my Sketchers. Ever since a certain incident with a rather hazardous pair of Jimmy Choo mules just over a week ago, I'd been trying to wear outfits that can go with comfortable shoes. Today, it was one of those sets of cute pink track pants with the white stripes down the side and a matching hooded zip-up sweatshirt. The sneakers I had found with the exact same pink at Payless. I know what you're thinking. Suze, how could you?! But ever since the Jimmy Choos I had also been trying to stay away from designer prices. Not much, but enough to make up for the sizeable amount of money I had blown away on Mr. Choo.

            "Father D," I said cautiously, "There's more. I kind of told Paul that I would spend more time with him to learn about shifting." Father D stared at me, aghast. "It wasn't without reason!" I said hurriedly, "He promised he'd stay away from Jesse if  I did." Damn! I had just brought up the reason I was here. Now, I had no choice but to head for the truth.

            "Jesse will be safe at the rectory," said Fether Dom in what was supposed to be a cautious but reassuring voice. The last time he and I had discussed Jesse's move, I had been crying for three hours afterwards. "So there was no need to make such a deal with Paul."

            "Actually, Father D, there sort of was," I said. "I, uh…well…Jesse may not be moving into the rectory." Father Dom gave me a puzzled look. "Really?" he said. "And who told you that?"

            "Jesse and I made a decision. Father Dom, he and I talked about the kiss, and we know it doesn't mean anything to us. We're just friends, and we want to stay together." Okay, so I lied. I lied big time. Not a little white one, either. Nope, this was a great big purple whopper. It took me a minute to realize what I had done. Now that I had lied to Father D about Jesse, there was no way that I could tell him the truth. It just wasn't possible anymore.

            I guess my shock at what I had just done showed, because Father Dom said, "Really, Susannah? Well…then I suppose it's fine if Jesse stays where he is. But wait…last week you seemed to want him to stay for reasons more than friendship. Susannah, are you sure you and Jesse feel nothing for each other?"

            "Positive," I said in a somewhat shaky voice, "And if we ever do, we'll let you know." I hoped the last part would give me the courage to tell Father Dominic sometime, if not now.

            "Alright," said Father D, still sounding a little suspicious. "Off you go, then."


	4. Lunch

Disclaimer: Yeah, I may have forgotten this in the other chapters but here it is for my whole fic- I (sadly) do not own any of the characters in this series. They are all the incredible work of Meg Cabot the Great. Also, I'd like to point out that the next Harry Potter book my not be published until 2006. If anyone else finds this agonizing, tell me!!!!!!!!!!!! But on a slightly higher note, the next (and possibly final sniffs) Mediator book comes in January 2005. Woohooooo!!!!!!!!! (or boohoo…)

I left the office feeling stunned. And not in a good way either. I felt stunned because of my own stupidity. How could I have lied like that?!?! What was I thinking?!?!?! I had lied. I had lied about my true feelings. I had lied about my true feelings to a priest. DAMN!!!!!

            I headed back to Mr. Walden's class, only to receive an intrigued look from Cee Cee and a grin that said _Busted!_ from my friend Adam. Cee Cee has liked him for as long as I've known them and they still haven't gotten together. Adam's just so clueless. Then again, so are most of the kids at the Mission. I mean, as far as he and the rest of my classmates can tell, I'm always in the office because I'm in trouble or just in need of serious counseling. One of those was truer than the other, and only now were some of my peers beginning to figure out why. 

            Several other people noticed me come in and I received an interesting mix of looks. A couple of them seemed to think I was crazy, because ever since the party it really did appear to be that way. How many seemingly mentally balanced sixteen-year-old girls suddenly start yelling things to invisible guys at parties? But on the other hand, most of them greeted me the way they normally did with smiles and grins, because they figured that they had imagined everything at Brad's party when they were drunk.

            I wish I could make myself believe that, too.

            I took my seat next to Cee Cee and mouthed _I'll tell you later_. Adam gave both of us a questioning look so I told him the same. I had a feeling that Cee Cee would want to spill the mediator thing to Adam, so in that fraction of a second I decided to tell him, too. Well, tell him part of it anyway. I wasn't too sure if Adam would be able to relate to the entire Jesse thing. Cee Cee had been through the whole unrequited love part herself, which was why I had been able to tell her. But who knew, maybe Adam liked her too and was simply panging for her inside the deepest realms of his heart. Then again, maybe Father Dom and Sister Ernestine are married with children, and aren't really Catholic but Lutheran, and we're all on the set of a giant reality TV show called "Find the Mediator", and Jesse isn't dead—

            I have got to stop watching daytime TV.

            Anyway, as we left third period (The Mission doesn't have bells because we don't want to disturb the tourists so the teachers just let us out when they see the long hand on twelve) and headed for lunch, I saw the last person I wanted to see:

            Paul Slater.

            True, he didn't scare me as much as he used to, because I knew that he and I were capable of the same things, (maybe that's actually a bit _scarier_…) but I still shivered when I saw him. Out of fright yes, but mostly out of anger, because the great twisted chaos that was now my life was only that way because of him. Too bad he had to be such a good kisser.

            On the other hand, he had left me alone for a little while, partially because he had a broken nose and was out of school for a week (not because of his nose really but because he cursed at a novice) and partially because I think he was afraid of what Jesse would do to him if he so much as blinked in my direction again. But apparently he had something of his old self back, which I heard when he began to speak.

            "Hello, Suze," he said with most of his old, smooth manner. "What's up? Want to come over after school for a little…_lesson_?" I hated the way he said that word. Like he was suggesting that he could teach me things. And sure, he could, but he had some etiquette issues himself, like jumping innocent girls who come to his house. And I did not want to go to Paul's house again. Sure, it scared me with all its glass and steel, but there was more to it than that. I mean, I didn't want Dr. Slaski to see me there and feel he had wasted his time on me and that I was a fool like his grandson. I also didn't want to relive the bedspread incident. But I still had to go, to protect Jesse.

            I considered telling Jesse this agreement. You know, the one where I go and learn about shifting from Paul and Paul in turn leaves Jesse alone. After all, he had just beat the heck out of Paul and showed that he was more than capable of handling himself. But what if Paul exorcised him again? _Then you go up and get him,_ said a little voice in the back of my head. _You're a shifter, Suze_. Frankly, that would've seemed like enough to convince me I didn't have to go to Paul's house, but there was one more thing.

            Soul transference. It was something Paul had mentioned to me even before shifting. And it scared the hell out of me. Because just as Paul had said, it was possible, and it would give a person life, but it was murder. I could only begin to imagine Paul doing something like that to Jesse. Of course, Jesse was dead so no one could inhabit his body, but who knew what else Paul could do. I didn't. But I had to find out. Because anything he could do, I could do to.  

            "Yeah, Paul," I said in reply to his question. "But do you think maybe we can do it somewhere else? Like maybe, the beach? Or how about _my_ house instead of yours?" Sometimes, I do amaze myself with the things I can come up with on the spot. And that one was just brilliant.

            Paul grinned. "Why? Want to give me my third broken nose since I've known you? Or do you want to compare me and your dear old Jesse?" Well, Paul was himself again.

            "No thanks, Paul," I said calmly. "Besides, you'll never be half the man Jesse is." I put every single emotional fiber in my being into the last sentence because I wanted him to believe it so badly. I think it worked a little though, because something flashed through Paul's eyes. For a second, the smirk on his face faltered. I smiled triumphantly. What was more, Paul couldn't even hope to penetrate my confidence with a remark like that one about comparing him with Jesse, because now that I knew Jesse loved me, nothing about Paul was remotely appealing anymore. I couldn't be warm for this guy's form, because I had my own guy form to be warm for. And it was living in my _bedroom_.

            "All right, well….fine." said Paul, doing his best to look utterly nonplussed by my comment on Jesse. "See you at the beach then. And don't bring _anyone_ with you." He had been careful not to say _anybody_, because that would have enabled me to bring Jesse, who…had no body. "What time?"

            "Any time is good for me," I said, "But I'd prefer after school." All right, Suze! I sure told him. But he wasn't going to let on. Not for a long time.

            "Okay," said Paul. "I'll pick you up." And then he walked off to another table. He wasn't completely welcome at the table where all the popular kids sat, but most of them, like the kids in my third period class, thought they had imagined him being beaten up by no one and suddenly being dunked into the hot tub by invisible hands, in their drunken state.

            I sat down at our table, opposite Cee Cee and Adam. They were both staring at me which was a little unnerving since I was about to eat.

            "So Suze," said Cee Cee. "What did Father Dominic say?" I gulped. But Cee Cee and Adam were the only ones who could know the truth and be remotely supportive of my callous decision this morning.

            "Well, I...wait a minute, Cee Cee, does Adam know?" She just stared at me blankly.

"Know what?"

            "That I'm a _mediator_," I said in an obvious voice.  

            "Oh, _that_," she said, "Actually, I may have forgotten to tell him that part." So we told him. Adam was a lot more willing to believe some of that stuff than Cee Cee probably had been, but he also didn't understand as much. We had to explain several things to him, including what an exorcism is. Cee Cee spilled everything about Jesse before I could stop her, but I didn't really mind, because Adam was pretty cool about it. Of course, neither of them knew about the shifting yet, but I would get to that, and what happened in Father Dom's office.

            Sometime. 


	5. Shifting Lesson, shifting question

Hey, everyone! Sorry it took so long for me to put this chapter up, but I have camp and all sorts of things to do. But don't worry; I'm totally going to keep putting up chapters until I have a decent plot and a finished product. Oh, and Esodes08- I know you said length never hurt anyone, but I can't write chapters as long as they should be. If I did, it would take like, a month for me to finish each one, and honestly, it would just be too long for all the lazy people out there. But I will try to make them longer, and as the plot thickens, I think they will. Anyway, now you guys can read. Ciao!

I was pretty happy about telling Adam, and about totally snubbing Paul, but I was still peeved about my blatant fibbing to Father Dom's face. Maybe that's a bit too intense. Oh, who am I kidding, I completely lied! Calm yourself, Suze. So I lied? No one knew that. Not yet, anyway. So I tried to put it out of my mind, or at least concentrate on more important matters. Like having to have a lesson in shifting from Paul.

            I didn't want to learn about shifting from him. But I had to know what he and I were capable of, and it was the only way. But I wasn't just going to act eager and let him jump me again. No way was I going through that fiasco more than once in my life. No, I was going to do everything possible to make me have to spend the minimum amount of time with that slime ball.  That was why I asked Adam to give me a ride to the beach after school. He was more than happy to do it, just so he could show off his VW Bug to all of Carmel's inhabitants, and he didn't even ask why the heck I was going to the beach with Paul Slater. Cee Cee did, though.

            "I though we agreed that that guy was a creep," she said when I asked Adam for a ride, "Why are you even going _near_ him?"

            "Because, Cee Cee," I replied, "I have to. I can't explain now, but I kind of made this…deal. And if I want him to keep his half of the bargain, I have to hang out with him and learn about shif-- mediating." Cee Cee looked a little hurt that I couldn't tell her, but that didn't stop the reporter within her from asking the question she asked.

            "What sort of deal?" she asked. "According to you, he's not the kind of guy that sticks to his word. You might as well have sold your soul to the devil." I nearly swallowed the mint I was sucking on. As usual, Cee Cee had hit the nail on the head. She was exactly right about my deal with Paul. I had basically sold my soul to the devil.

            Paul was waiting at the beach with an old shoe box and a couple of chairs.

            "Later, Adam, Cee Cee," I said as I clambered out of Adam's car. Cee Cee didn't look at all like she wanted to leave, but I told her I wasn't going to let her spy on Paul at the beach. That and, I can handle myself. Hey, let's not forget that the last time Paul had sexually assaulted me, I had nearly given him a black eye. Then again, he was pretty hard to hurt, as I had seen from his quick recovery after Jesse's beating.  

            "Hey, Suze," he said silkily. "What's up?"

            "Oh, shut up," I snapped. Paul looked a little taken aback by this, but amused all the same.

            "What gives?" he asked, grinning. "I thought you liked me. You kissed me, didn't you?" His grin widened.

            I couldn't believe him. I couldn't believe he even _dared_ to speak about that after how clear I had made it that I hated his stupid little shifting guts. The anger wasn't in my voice, though. What surprised me was that I sounded…smug.

            "Well, Paul," I said, unable to resist the opportunity to wipe that stupid smirk off his face. "Things have changed since then. I may have kissed you once, but that was because I was sad, and liked the fact that _someone_ wanted me. But it was wrong. And now, Paul, I don't need your little kisses. I have my own man to kiss." That did sound a little sexist. I mean, "My man"? Come, on. Jesse was definitely the one in control of the relationship here. But still, it had the desired effect. Paul looked like he had just swallowed a can full of Spam…with the can.

            "What?" he croaked. "You….you and…you and Jesse are…_together_?" I nodded defiantly, unable to stop myself from smiling a little. After all, it was pretty cool. Especially since Paul didn't seem to have been expecting it. He didn't seem to have been expecting it at all.

            "Anyway, I didn't come here to talk about my love life," I said in a matter-of-fact sort of tone. "And I didn't come to be reminded that I hate you. I came here because I hope, I hope, that you regret what you've done, and I want to see if you can actually keep a promise. I came here to learn more about shifting." Paul's grin seemed to be trying to reposition itself (in vain). He nodded vigorously.   
            "Right," he mumbled, "Shifting." And then we began.

            Paul showed me things he had brought in the shoe box. I had seen some before…Dr. Slaski's thesis, newspaper clippings of his research, the same old stuff. But this time there were more of them. Slaski's research went further. It went further to say that shifters could not only move freely between the realms of the living and the dead, but also that they could travel through time.

Paul actually did a little demonstration of this despite my protests by taking my arm and apparently, picturing the sixties. I'll admit, that was pretty fun. We almost got run over by four girls in a red convertible, all wearing brightly colored tops and enormous hoops earrings in different colors. Then we bought ice cream to go because it cost so much less. People kept staring at our clothes; Paul because of his Polo Ralph Lauren, and me because of my track pants and Sketchers.

Before we knew it, it was five thirty, and I had to go home for dinner. (Andy makes us all eat together like the Camdens because it's his idea of "family time". However, since the food is so fantastic, we all find it pretty hard to argue with the man's beliefs.) Paul packed up the papers and chairs, and we decided we'd meet every other week from now on. I didn't want to spend that much time with him, but weekly would have been a nightmare, and as it was the only other choice, I chose the other.

"So," said Paul, about to pose the question I didn't want to answer, "Did you have fun?" I sighed. I wanted to lie. But I decided that I could always bend the truth, or at least downplay it slightly.

"It wasn't awful," I said, but then I gave in. "Okay, it was a little fun. But I hope you know this doesn't change anything, Paul."

"Sure it doesn't," he said slyly. That's what made me mad. Paul would never believe me. He would only believe what he wanted to believe. And all of a sudden I just got really ticked off. I didn't do anything drastic. I just stepped on Paul's foot. Hard.

He dropped the papers, taken by surprise. "Paul," I said calmly, but still through clenched teeth, "Believe whatever you want. But it won't change the truth. You tried to kill me, and you tried to break my heart. I hate you with every fiber of my being, but I still can't help but wonder if maybe you're sincere sometimes. But it's going to take a lot more than a trip to the sixties and some ice cream to make me sure of it."

I walked away before he could say anything. I walked away before he could think about what I said. I just didn't want to be near him. Who ever told that guy that the way to a girl's heart is to treat her like toy-- play games with her, with her mind-- was wrong. Too bad he hadn't figured it out yet.

I made it home just in time for dinner at six. Brad was there, waiting for everyone else before he started to eat; this was one of the many new rules Andy had forced upon Dopey since the hot tub incident. Another was that he was no longer allowed to burp words at the table, or he would not be able to eat. But I guess Brad wasn't as dumb as he looked, because he had successfully burped quite a few rude words at the end of meals before, and not had to pay for it because he had already finished eating. Andy didn't find this nearly as amusing as his second son did, and so if Brad tried that again, he'd have no dinner the _next_ night.

My mom was a little curious as to where I had been. "Suzie," she said, using the name that only she can call me. "David said you got a ride with Cee Cee and Adam and went to the beach, is that right?" I nodded. It's a little strange that the person in the world I find it easiest to lie to is the one I should lie to the least. But still, Mom would never understand. She wouldn't understand mediation, Jesse, or Paul. She just didn't know me the way she thought she did, but I was okay with that.

Dinner was salmon and zucchini pasta with a side of garlic mashed potatoes. Needless to say, it was delicious, and none of us really wanted to leave the table, even though we were full to the point of bursting. I trudged upstairs eventually, hoping to get some homework done and maybe paint my nails, which were chipping. Luckily, this proved incredibly possible, since Jesse wasn't on the window seat as usual. His cat, Spike, hissed at me when I walked in. "Oh, shut up," I retorted. The cat seemed a little surprised. I guess I was a little more assertive these days.

I took a long power-shower after painting my nails (Cold water is the best thing to dry wet nails. No joke, try it sometime. The colder the water, the drier the nails!) and then settled down on my bed to do some homework. I couldn't concentrate a ton, what with all I'd done that day. I mean, lying, telling the truth, hanging with Paul, shifting through time—wait a minute, _shifting_ through time? I had just realized something. Shifting always gave the shifter a killer headache afterwards. I had no headache, and Paul showed no signs of having one. Could it be possible that shifting through time was less painful because you were in the same plane of existence? Or maybe since Paul was the one that shifted us, he had shown no signs of headache because he was so used to it. But that didn't seem likely to me, because nausea inducing headaches are always something to talk about, shifter or not.

I ignored it through the rest of my homework, and through Jesse's good night kiss (I told him I was too tired to talk, maybe tomorrow), but once I was in bed, the thought came back to nag. But no matter what I asked myself, I knew that there was only one person who could give me a straight answer. I needed to talk to that person. I needed to talk to Dr. Slaski.


	6. Confusion

Manda- As a fellow freak, all I can say is, isn't it good to be us? Haha. But seriously, don't be discouraged from criticizing me. Reviews are much loved (I mean that, every time I get a little E-mail saying "Review Alert!" I get all tingly….) and criticism is what makes a story great.

All ya'll- Here's another chappie for ya. I think I have something akin to a plot, so I'm happy. Soon, this will be a finished product. Well, not really, since it's about half as long, but still, I can dream, can't I? I'm hoping to write an Alex Rider fic, in hopes of starting a section for him on this site, and maybe screwing up my courage and writing a Harry Potter fic. Maybe I can do it justice. I haven't read many fics that do. That doesn't include Manda's though. That was excellent. Or as Gina said in Reunion, "Ex."

The next day, I stayed away from Paul. He had seriously pissed me off with his attitude, and I just wanted to keep myself away, in hopes of calming down a bit. Cee Cee kept on trying to weasel out an answer from me about why I was going to have to spend an afternoon every other week with Paul Slater. But I am _not_ an easy person to crack. Here's how our third conversation on the subject went:

            Cee Cee: So, why do you have to hang out with Paul Slater?

            Me: Ugh, Cee, we've gone through this. The story hasn't changed since the last time you asked me. TEN MINUTES AGO. Can't you just accept what I'm saying and move on with your life?

            Cee Cee: Accept what you're saying and get on with my life? HA! Do you know me at all?

            Me: You're right. Why don't we just drop this and I'll get to know you better, like any red-blooded friend

            Cee Cee: Nice try. I still want to know why we had to drive you to the beach to hand out with _Paul Slater_. Why won't you tell?

            Me: (exasperated) I did tell you Cee Cee. I told you everything. I told you that Paul knows stuff about mediating, and I went to the beach to learn some of it.

            Cee Cee: But if what you "told me" was true, then you don't really need Paul to teach you anything. You're fine on your own.

            Me: As much as I would like to say something back, I can't because we have a class to go to. Darn.

            That was how all the conversations seemed to go: in circles. I knew Cee Cee wouldn't give up, so I had to go along with it or just change the subject. Believe me; I was glad to go home after school.

Jesse was in the bedroom, waiting for me.

            "_Querida_," he said slyly, "We need to talk."

            "Really?" I said. "Because…I have a lot of homework, you know…and I have to, uh…do the dishes tonight--"

            "Susannah," he said. Jesse's liquid black eyes were boring into mine. "I want to know what Father Dominic said, and I want to know _now_." I gulped.

            "Do we have to talk about it now?" I asked.

            "Yes," said Jesse, "We do." Jesse and Cee Cee are a lot alike, you know. They both stop at nothing to squeeze the truth out of me. Doesn't it suck?

            "Okay, fine," I said. "But you have to realize that I just did what I had to. I mean, it was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, and--"

"What?" Jesse looked worried now. "Susannah, what did you say to him?"

"I…I…I lied. Oh Jesse, I was so scared that he would make you leave that I just couldn't tell him the truth about us. So, I told him that we talked about the kiss and agreed it meant nothing, and--"

            "_What?_" Okay. Now he was mad. At me. "_Querida_, how could you do something like this? Do you realize that if you tell Father Dominic the truth now he will be even angrier at you because you lied? I…how…what were you thinking?"

            "I was thinking that I love you." I said quietly. Jesse being angry made the whole thing worse. "I didn't want you to leave. Jesse, we can still tell Father Dom, can't we? I mean, he doesn't want us to stay in the same room because he's afraid we'll get like, full-frontal or something. So all we have to do is not, and then tell him after a little while. He'll see that the arrangement's been working and…leave it as it is." God, I'm good. I just made that up as I went along. But I guess it worked because Jesse actually looked like he was considering it.

            "All right, Susannah," he said after much deliberation. "I don't know if it will work, but I trust you, and I believe that you were just doing what you thought was best. But I still do not think it was right. I guess we will both have to trust your instincts." I heaved a sigh of relief and smiled.

            "Thanks, Jesse. You don't know how much it means that you're okay with this."

            I hugged him, and I think that's what made him sure that he was doing the right thing by trusting me. We kissed, and for a moment it seemed as though everything was all right, and that I hadn't lied or had to spend time with Paul Slater and I wasn't a shifter who didn't know what she could do…

            "SUZE!" It was Dopey. I pulled away from Jesse, wanting more than ever to hurt Brad.

            "WHAT?" I shrieked back. (Brad was downstairs)

            "PAUL SLATER'S HERE FOR YOU!" I slipped and fell. Jesse caught me just in time and we stared at each other. Why was Paul here? What did he want? All I knew was that I didn't want him here, especially considering that the last time he was he had a china cabinet was broken and the police had come.

            "TELL HIM I'M NOT HERE!" I shouted, hoping it wasn't too late. But I guess I was having a stupid moment because there was no way that Paul could be downstairs near Dopey and not hear me screaming when Dopey did.

            "TOO LATE!" called Brad. He seemed to be enjoying himself "I'LL SEND HIM UP TO YOUR ROOM!" Instead of screaming I bit into my fist.

            "Jesse! What are we going to do? Should I like, hide?" Jesse shook his head; he just as scared as I was.

            The door to my room opened, and Paul was standing there.

            "So," he said smugly, "Looks like you two were having a moment. Glad I could interrupt." I saw Jesse's fist twitching next him. I held his hand so that he wouldn't punch. Paul saw the fist, though. "Relax, cowboy," he said chuckling. "I just came to ask if I could borrow Suze's trig. notes." I relaxed considerably.

            "Good," I said acidly. "Here," I fished through my backpack and grabbed my entire trigonometry folder then handed it to him. But something stopped me from letting go of the notes. "Wait," I said, "Why do you need my notes? You're like, the best student in all the eleventh grade trig. classes."

            "I was making up Monday's test today, remember?" Damn! He was right. Paul hadn't taken the test on Monday because he had been out with a broken nose. "I missed the lesson and didn't get to take notes."

            "Oh," I said feeling stupider by the minute. "Right. Well, here are the notes. Bye." Paul took the folder and headed for the door. Then he turned around.

            "See you next week, Suze." He said slyly. And then he left. Shit!

            Jesse was raising his eyebrows at me now.

            "What?" I said.

            "Why will he be seeing you next Tuesday?"

            "Look, Jesse I only made this deal for your protection--"

            "What _deal_, Susannah?"

            "I told Paul I'd learn about shifting from him, on the condition that he'd leave you alone." There was an awkward pause. Then Jesse cupped my face in his hands.

            "_Querida_, you don't have to take care of me. I can handle Paul Slater."

            "Yeah, but he's a shifter. If he exorcises you, you can't come back."

            Jesse smiled. "He can't take me away from you that easily. And even if I am exorcised, I believe there is another shifter who _will_ come back to get me." He gazed into my eyes.

            "But Jesse, it's dangerous. It could kill me if I shift too much." Jesse dropped his hands.

            "What? Susannah, who told you this?" I gasped. In all the excitement of being in love with Jesse and telling everyone the truth, I had completely forgotten telling him about Dr. Slaski's warning about the shifting. So I told him, and after explaining, we were both even more confused than we had been before. But the good thing was that this time, Jesse agreed with me. He decided that tomorrow, the two of us would pay Dr. Oliver Slaski a little visit.


	7. The Removal of the Anvil

**Hello! Did you think I had deserted all of my readers? No way! I was just a little busy and all over this summer, and I was updating my spur-of-the-moment Harry Potter fic, which I must say I am incredibly proud of. **

**So, here is the much awaited (I wish) chapter seven of my story. Not too long, but it's something. Yay!**

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Paul's house had no doorbell.

There was just a cold, metal knocker on the door which I practically ran into when we walked up to the house. I knocked three times and then Jesse and I waited. He looked calm, but apprehensive, and was eyeing the house with a sort of curious foreboding. I was just fiddling with my J. Jill skirt, an asymmetrical cut with a flowy edge to it, and the matching mauve tank top.

I had the day off from school because it was the day that the Spanish Missionaries left Salinas County. There was this one-day fair, which is a big deal to eeveryone and that's where my family was. I had told them I'd catch up. As for Paul, I knew for a fact that he was visiting his parents at the Pebble Beach Hotel and Golf Resort. They were in town for a day to see how he was doing.

After about a minute no one had answered so I knocked again, harder this time. Then there were footsteps inside the house, coming closer. I quickly put on my beige imitation leather jacket, because Paul's house was _cold_.

The door opened and I saw the familiar face of Dr. Slaski's nurse.

"Oh, hello Miss Simon," said the nurse in a friendly voice. "Paul isn't in right now, I'm afraid."

"That's okay," I said, "Um…actually I came to see Dr.—Mr. Slater."

"Oh," the nurse sounded pretty surprised at this, but somewhat pleased. After all, how many people came to visit an old man who was only lucid when he felt like it? "You're in luck. He's quite lucid today. Come on in, he's watching TV."

No surprises there.

I followed the nurse in, motioning for Jesse to follow. The house, in its entire steel and glass splendor, was as cold as ever and the fireplace in the living room had in front of it an electric fire which was off. These people are crazy.

We had gone over the plan before. Jesse would create a distraction in the backyard to get rid of the nurse while I talked to Slaski. We figured the nurse wouldn't be too happy leaving his charge inside alone with a teenager who had almost given Paul a black eye the last time she was at the house. Still, it wasn't like I wasn't going to at least try to do it the peaceful way first. Just in case.

The nurse brought in Dr. Slaski's wheelchair. He was staring into space, but his eyes flickered towards me looking surprised and suspicious. Then he saw Jesse. His head actually jerked up to get a better look and make sure that he wasn't hallucinating. The nurse, completely oblivious of this wheeled him in and then looked at me expectantly.

"Uh, sir? Could I talk to Mr. Slater…alone?"

The nurse frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. (Eyebrow movements seem to be taking over my life) He looked thoughtful for a couple of minutes before looking resigned and saying, "Oh, all right. But not for long. You have as long as I'm making Mr. Slater his lunch."

The nurse nodded and left the room. My jaw, which felt like it was level with the floor, snapped back up. I looked at Jesse in amazement. We hadn't thought it would actually work! Still, we didn't have much time so I decided to cut to the chase.

"Dr. Slaski, this is Jesse De Silva. Jesse, this is Dr. Slaski. Now, Dr. Slaski, ou ma be unaware of this, but your grandson has been threatening me and Jesse for a few months now. He stranded me on the spectral plane once and he had Jesse exorcised. He claims to love me, but Jesse and I are, well…together. But Paul won't leave us alone. He keeps trying to come between us, and…I'm afraid he'll exorcise Jesse again. I know I'll be able to go up and bring him back but how long can a game like that go on, sir? How long before either Paul or myself is killed by the consequences of shifting?"

Dr. Slaski had remained silent throughout my little speech. He looked up at me and I got something of a shock. He looked…concerned. More than that, he looked almost sorry. There was an urgent look in his eyes as well and I didn't feel too comforted by that.

"I may have been a little too vague the last time we spoke," he said, speaking each word cautiously as though I was a bomb about to explode. "Shifting is dangerous when done too carelessly, there's no doubt about that. But when there is a great need to shift, do it. There are forces of nature. Not of the world and the weather, but of life and death. They're like the spirits on the astral plane. They can feel what's happening to whom and why. I'm guessing that your friend here often feels disturbance on the spectral plane. The Forces are what communicates disturbances to him."

He paused here, I suppose for effect. And let me tell you, it worked. Forces? Who knew? I always thought that maybe Jesse was dippin' back and forth between the two planes of existence through his mind or something. I never thought that there were actual people…I mean, _entities_ that communicated everything to him. But that wasn't all of what was dawning on me. It was the other thing Dr. Slaski had said. _They can feel what's happening to whom and when_. That could only mean…

"Yes," Said Dr. Slaski, apparently reading my mind. "They can understand that you like this…Jesse--" understatement of the century, "—and will know if you have to go get him because of Paul's interference. However, this does not mean that you can be entirely frivolous when shifting. Please, exercise extreme caution when doing so. And do not leave for more than an hour. You won't be stranded on the next plane of existence, but you may not be able to get back to your own in perfect condition."

Well, that was something of a relief. Oh, who am I kidding? I felt like someone had just taken a 5000 pound Acme anvil off my shoulders and make no mistake about it, it felt _good_. But something in the back of my mind was nagging me, tugging at my tongue so it could be said…

"There's something else, Dr. Slaski." I took a deep breath. "Your grandsom and I made a stupid deal a while ago, a deal I assure you I plan on breaking off--" I said that to ease the look on his face that implied he might want me dumped in the loony bin, "—where he teaches me about shifting. Well, during the first…'lesson', he and I shifted through time. And, I couldn't help noticing that I didn't get that killer headache I got the last time I shifted. Why exactly did that happen?"

To my surprise, Dr. Slaski was smiling now. He looked much calmer than he had when we were discussing shifting to different planes of existence.

"Ah, yes," he said, with the air of someone proposing a toast. "There is no splitting headache necessary when shifting through time, Miss Simon. See, since you aren't going to a different plane of existence, your powers remain thoroughly strong and you can travel through time as you please."

Oh, yeah! Who was right? Me! Ha! I totally knew it. It was just good to have a second opinion.

There was a beeping noise from the kitchen.

"Oh," said Dr. Slaski. "That'll be my dinner. Microwave meals." He made a face. "You had best be on your way. Miss Simon," he nodded, "Mr. De Silva. It was nice to see you both. Don't be discouraged from coming back." He winked.

The nurse came in with a plate of what looked to me like something from Gerber's. Not too appetizing, if you catch my drift. He grinned sheepishly then proceeded to wheel Dr. Slaski away and make him eat that pigeon food. Excuse me when I say, _Ew_.

I smiled at the nurse and then made my way towards the door, Jesse following in my wake. As, we shut the door behind us (and I took off my jacket since we were no longer in a house that reminded me of Alaska) I clapped gleefully and squealed.

"Yes! Oh, Jesse everything's okay! Yay! Paul's going to get his stupid butt kicked by the formerly ignorant Me!" You may think I was overreacting, but I was just so relieved. And the best part of everything I had just learned was that I hadn't learned it from Paul Slater.

I spun around and jumped a few times then leapt up onto Jesse and hugged him as tightly as I could. We kissed, and this time, I didn't care if anyone saw me kissing thin air. But someone did. And they didn't see thin air, either.

"Hello, Suze."

Oh, no.

**A/N- LONG REVIEWS!!!!!!**


	8. Satan's brother

**Sorry sorry sorry sorry for the lack of updates!!! I think I've had Writer's Block for this chapter. But what with school and all the 'fun stuff' that comes with it, I just haven't had that much time. However, I must confess that when I did have time, I spent it on my Harry Potter fic. This brings me to the next thing I have to say. All HP fans among you Mediators! _Read and review _my Harry Potter fic!! And all of you check out my favorite authors and stories! Fun and awesome stuff! **

**I think my school may finally add the first four Mediator books to this list of books we have which we can take quizzes for in Language Arts. **

**Enough of my stupid talk, here's chapter eight!**

I probably would've frozen or something if I weren't a strong person. I was very close to it, anyway. What I did was I sort of stumbled and fell, but Jesse caught me. It must've looked pretty odd to any people looking out their windows or something though, because I would appear to be putting all my weight on thin air. For the second time in a minute, too.

Anyway, after that little trip I took, I stood up, my back turned to Paul. _No_, I thought. _Not now, not here! Just don't ask me what I was doing…_

I pulled myself up to my full height and straightened out my skirt. If I was going to face him, I was sure as hell going to look good doing it.

"Paul," I began, turning fast as I could on my heel, "Get away from--"

But before I could finish my sentence, before I could punch him or at least spit on his shoe, something short streaked past Paul and hit me square in the midriff, knocking me over yet again into Jesse's arms.

"Suze!" squeaked a small voice from near my navel. An oddly familiar voice, come to think of it…

"J — Jack?" I said, in a strangled sort of voice. He was, after all, crushing my lungs.

"Yeah, Suze, it's me! I missed you!" Jack Slater finally let go of me so I could take a good look at him. Jack hadn't grown much since the summer, but his curly brown hair was almost covering his eyebrows. But, unlike it did on his brother, the hair-in-the-eye look didn't make Jack look much more appealing. Then again, I'm not an eight-year old girl.

"Wow, uh…Jack, it's, um…such a surprise to see you!" I mentally kicked myself. I should've known that Mr. and Mrs. Slater would've brought Jack with them to come see Paul. Not that I minded seeing him; I hoped that his presence would stifle Paul's stalker-ish behavior. But then again, the last time his presence had come in, Paul hadn't cared.

Oops. I had forgotten about Paul. But there he was, right behind Jack (who was chattering at the top of his voice), looking smug as ever. But…why?

The answer came soon enough. Following the path to the house Paul had taken, came none other than his parents.

"Susan!" cried Mrs. Slater. (Both Paul and Jesse sniggered) "How are you, honey?"

"Um…fine, thanks," I said numbly. "How long are you guys staying?"

"Just for the weekend," she said waving her hand absently. "We just came to see how Paul's getting along. Looks like he has a friend, eh?"

Now that one made me want to throw up. Instead I just gave a sort of wry smile. God, was this woman blind? Didn't she see the hatred clearly radiating out of me towards Paul?

"So do you two spend a lot of time together?" Apparently not. I shook my head at her, with a look she probably mistook for sadness. As if.

"Did you know Paul wasn't home?" I jumped. Mr. Slater rarely ever spoke, let alone to me. But what got me interested this time was the way he was looking at Paul's house. Like, I don't know…it looked like he expected it to explode any second. That must be why Paul's so smug, I thought. He wasn't trying to intimidate me; he was trying to scare his dad!

"Um…no, I…I didn't," I said cautiously, watching Paul's face, which clearly said 'Lie, Suze, lie! Just this once!' (Ahem) Somehow, I felt I'd rather lie to Paul's dad on this one. If he knew I was a mediator…I shuddered. And it would be worse if he knew I was a shifter — especially one in contact with other shifters — since he himself had changed his family's name to pretend he didn't know one. "I just arrived a couple minutes ago to see him about…homework."

"Oh," said Mr. Slater. "Well, that's…good. It wouldn't be…erm…good, to have you…alone in this house, because…there's no one here. In the house, I mean."

God, this guy was a bad liar.

"I'm sure there isn't, Mr. Slater," I said stifling a giggle and momentarily forgetting my anger at Paul. "Um…could I talk to Paul for a second?"

"Sure, sweetheart," said Mrs. Slater with a sickly sweet smile. "Come on, Jack, why don't you, me and daddy go inside?"

Then she pushed her son and husband rather forcefully through the glass door and into the freezer.

"What does your dad have against shifters?" I asked Paul in disbelief.

"I don't know," said Paul. "I think he's scared of our power. He knows he's nothing against us."

"Paul! How can you be this arrogant?"

"I'm not arrogant, Suze, I'm telling it like it is." I so wish I could stomp that swagger out of him.

"Still, don't flatter yourself. I mean, you're not the all-powerful or anything, whether or not you're willing to believe it." Ooh! Nice one!

"Maybe, maybe not. But enough about me. What were you really doing here?"

"That," said Jesse, speaking for the first time in minutes, "Is not your business, _Paul_."

Before Paul could respond (though I'm not sure Jesse would've let him), however, Jack came pelting out of the house.

"Hi Suze hi Paul!" he said without pausing. "Hey, who's he? I've seen him before…"

"Jack," I said. "This is Jesse. Jesse, meet Jack, brother of Satan." I glared at Paul, feeling fresh anger. However, he looked nothing short of flattered. Ugh.

"Well then, guess I'm going to hell for my satanic rituals _and_ sexiness," he said. Oh. My. Gosh! Excuse me, but ew. And in front of his pre-pubertal brother, too!

"Paul!" I cried. "I…you…oh, ew!" I wasn't the only one who was mad. Jesse looked like he was ready to stab someone. "Jesse, calm down," I said to him. "It doesn't matter what Paul says."

That was when dear old Jack decided to change the subject. I owe the kid.

"Suze," he said timidly. "I met a ghost the other day." No kidding! A mediator meeting a ghost? Who knew?

"Really?" I said. "How did you do?"

"Well, I didn't really do anything…" he said, shuffling his feet uncomfortably. I don't think he really remembered much about it. "It, uh…wanted to see you. Well, _she_ wanted to see you."

"She?" I said blankly. "Who's she?"

"Some old lady," he said. "She was all dressed up and she had loads of jewelry, too. She said she was a fortune teller or something."

"Fascinating," I replied. "Wait…what was her name, Jack?"

"Oh," He seemed to brighten up a bit at this, probably because he actually remembered it. "Zara. Madam Zara."

**Dun dun dun! And now I believe you see here the beginning of a plot. Well, there was plot earlier on, but this is where it all starts to happen. Sorry if this isn't much of a chapter, but like I said, Writer's Block! Bear with me, O Great Reviewers!**

**Aaaah- **Yay! I'm so happy you like it!

**Unangelichalo- **Don't worry, rambling is so fun to read! The longer and weirder the review, the better. Now, I'm guessing you did something involving cousins and Aunties and airports recently? As did I. Well, not all together, but I did go up north with the cousins and aunties and uncles, and I went to Virginia this weekend via airport.

**Gatorchick007- **Er…cool. Thanks. Glad you like.

**Emlythekool- **I think I told you this before, but anyway, as you can see, there is more to this story than seven chapters! Keep reviewing!


	9. Words of a Misty Voice

**It has been waaaaay too long. **

**I'm sorry! Really, I am! But as it was with the last chapter, I've got homework and loads of other junk. And I shall confess once again that I have been busy fanfiction-wise with Harry Potter fanfiction. I've got three stories in the making and a poem!!!! Well, the poem isn't really in the making…if I feel like adding to it I will. **

**ANYWAY…**

**Sorry about that, I just love to get off topic…**

**::smacks herself in the face::**

**Right.**** I'm okay now. Now, I've noticed from my stats section that some of the people who have me on author alert or on their favorites lists have never reviewed my stories!!! Now, how fair is that to poor me? ::pouts in unconvincing way:: I seriously love getting reviews, so if you're one of those people, don't be afraid to leave me one!!!!! **

**Without any further ado, I give you chapter nine. **

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Madness. Chaos. Disaster.

That's what my life has been since the day I found out I could see dead people. That's what said dead people have put me through or turned my life into. And now, here was Jack, this poor, innocent, young mediator, and he was casually telling me that the psychic lady who found me out wants to talk to me.

What else is new?

To be honest, though, I wasn't that panicked when he first told me. I just kind of got a shock, that's all. It lasted less than a second so I hoped I had covered it up well enough, but that would be too easy, wouldn't it? Nope, all the cute guys within three feet of me—dead or alive—knew something was wrong.

"Susannah?" asked Jesse cautiously. I think he was afraid I'd fall again. "What is it? Who is this woman?"

"Um…no one. I mean, I know her…sort of. She's a psychic that Gina and I spoke to once. She's the one that told me I was a Mediator."

"That's it?" said Paul disbelievingly. His eyebrows just had to be raised, didn't they? I swear, I wanted to rip them off or something. "Then why'd your eyes grow so big, eh, Suze?"

"I'm just a little surprised, that's all," I'm proud to say that that was a totally honest statement right there. "Come on, Jesse, let's go. I'll call her when I'm at home or something. Then again, she's a psychic…she should be waiting for us there now…"

So, just like that, we left Paul's house. I didn't look back once, I just walked back home as fast as I could, Jesse jogging to keep up.

Doc was the one that opened the door, thank god.

"Hi-David-what's-up-gotta-go-loads-of-homework!" I said in one breath, the words tumbling over each other. Doc just stood there looking confused, even more so when Jesse followed me. David can't see ghosts, but he can sense them like animals, and he once told me that he could see a sort of silvery mist when he was talking to Jesse. So it made sense that he ran behind us shrieking "Suze! Another one! It's after you!"

That made me stop abruptly on my mad climb up the stairs. I stopped so fast, actually, that I collided with Jesse when I whirled around. Doc just kind of went through him which made Jesse make this face like he'd just had a sharp intake of breath.

"Calm, down Do—David," I said. "It's—_he's_—not after me. This is Jesse, remember him?"

Doc still looked kind of scared, but he nodded in comprehension and went back downstairs, glancing nervously over his shoulder at Jesse. As soon as his little red head disappeared, I threw open the door to my room.

Well, it turns out I was right. Madam Zara _is_ a psychic, and she _was_ waiting for us at home. Seriously, I mean there she was, this sixty-five-plus year old woman draped in all these colorful shawls and jewelry, examining my new edition of Cosmo and muttering to herself. (She wasn't reading it, just flipping through the pages and raising her eyebrows) She also seemed to have acquired a turban since I last saw her, when she had a headband. It looks a lot like the stereotypical psychics you see on TV, but she happens to me more plausible than that.

"Madam Zara?" I asked cautiously. No, Suze it's your mother! _DUH_ it's Madam Zara!

She didn't look remotely surprised that we were there, just as she had when we burst throught he door. Now she merely flipped through the Cosmo and said in a mysterious voice, "You came quickly."

"Um…yeah. As soon as I heard you wanted to see me I came back here."

"I knew you would. The little boy didn't have to tell me."

Clearly this wasn't going anywhere, so I tried a different approach.

"Why _did_ you want to see me, Madam Zara?"

_That_ triggered a reaction. She sighed deeply and put the magazine down, then got to her feet. She was about my height, but still totally intimidating because of her piercing blue eyes. They weren't like Paul's…light but still looking through you…they were a really bright, deep blue that I could see my reflection in. Somehow, I don't think she could see her reflection in my eyes. She saw something else in them.

"You have changed." She whispered. I was kind of disappointed. I mean, of course I've changed, she hasn't seen me for years! But that wasn't what she meant…

"Your soul has changed. Your destiny and your purpose have changed. The balance of fates has been upset by a disturbance, and you, Susannah Simon, were one of those affected by it."

I gulped. I remember everything Madam Zara told me…mainly the part about loving one person forever. Surely…

"Yes," said Madam Zara, her voice still softer. She turned towards the window. Jesse held my hand. "You are correct, Miss Simon. As you recall, I told you in the past that you would love one and only one for all eternity. But your destiny has changed."

I gulped again. No, no, no! She couldn't mean it, she couldn't possibly mean it! No…

"Your purpose has changed also. I will tell you this first. Your purpose before was to help the dead to move on to a better place. Now, though you do that, you must also help them _make_ the better place."

_What?!_ Building houses for dead people? Uh-uh, not my cup of tea. What would we call it, Homes for the Haunted? I don't think so!

Madam Zara chuckled. It was an eerie chuckle. "No," she said. "No houses. You must repair the damage this disturbance has caused to the astral plane. Your second new purpose—" Damn… "—is to rid us of the disturbance."

"Um, no offense, Madam Zara, but I kind of have disturbances of my own to deal with." Glad I pointed that out. Madam Zara just smiled again, though, but it was a wry smile.

"Yes," she said in that misty voice. "You do. They have affected your new destiny. For now you may not love one man forever, but there is another, who may come to sweep you off your feet. But only one of these may be your soul mate in peace. The other…must disappear."

I could've screamed. I could've cried. In fact I did. First the tears came to my eyes, and then I ran towards Madam Zara.

"NO!" I shrieked. Well, as loud as I could anyway, with other people in the house. "That's not true! I love Jesse, and I only love Jesse, there can't be anyone else…there just can't be! You're _wrong_, Madam Zara, that's _not_ my destiny!"

The tears were probably streaming down my face right now. Jesse walked up to me and soothed me in his warm embrace. I sobbed into his shoulder and held on to him as he tried to calm me.

"Shhh, querida," he whispered. "Everything will be fine. I love you and I will not let harm come to you, nor shall let this other person have you."

"Ah," said Madam Zara. "He's here. And he is a ghost. I can hear him. I can feel his presence."

I stopped sobbing long enough to look up at the psychic. She was looking around the room to pinpoint Jesse's voice when she realized I was putting my weight on thin air. She walked toward him with her hand outstretched and just barely brushed the sleeve of his shirt. She smiled.

"Hector De Silva," she said. "I have heard your name before, from the spirits, the fates. You are a missing entity. You aren't present in the Great Beyond. Do you love this girl?"

Jesse stood up to his full height, not that she could tell. "With all my heart." He said bravely. Madam Zara smiled.

"But it may not be destiny," she replied sadly. Then, suddenly, we heard the strangest noise. It was like a Sonic Boom, but it had this echoing…supernatural quality to it.

"The disturbance," breathed Madam Zara. She looked terrified. "I shall return again, but now I must go!"

And then she was gone.

**A big thank you to my reviewers: Lindsay, Gatorchick007, mecookiemonster, and emlythekool! I've abandoned review response for this story because in the world of _Mediator_ fanfiction, the reviews are short and to the point. I know this was a short chapter but now I for sure have a great plot idea! **


	10. The Truth and a Riddle

**Sorry I haven't updated! But, I was planning on doing it this week anyway, and –poof!— my mom tells my aunt to buy me TWILIGHT for my birthday! YES! I was waiting, wondering, agonizing, feeling some small shadow of the feeling I have for the sixth HP book…much smaller, though, as I waited a month for Twilight without spontaneously combusting…**

**PEOPLE WHO'VE READ TWILIGHT...OR HAVEN'T, ACTUALLY:**

**Continue and read the section after the next page labeled with a _SPOILER ALERT!_ If you haven't read Twilight, just skip it for fear of potential spoilers. **

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!SPOILER ALERT!_**

**Yeah, so.**** I'm really freaked out because my fic has so much in common with Twilight. I mean, how did I know…? The whole time travel thing (though mine appears to be less painful) and visiting Dr. Slaski? Whoa, that scared the living daylights out of me. Such a good book, though, definitely the best of the bunch…I practically cried towards the end, it was so fantastic. **

**_!END OF SPOILER ALERT!_**

**

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Okay, well, my excuse for not updating is…loads of other fics, stuff for school and whatnot, erm…my birthday…and volleyball season just started, for which I am the very happy manager. -D That and the whole class-trip-to-the-nation's-capital-that-cost-a-bunch-since-we-had-to-drive-x-miles-to-get-there thing. It was super fun, though. Okay, no more stalling, just read and review, eh?**

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Madam Zara left me and Jesse a little shaken...not to mention weirded out. I felt like I had some sort of strange fever, and had to take my next meal in bed while mulling over the conversation with Jesse.

Jesse. Thank GOD — a phrase I don't use often — that he was there. I probably would've had a nervous breakdown without him. He kept telling me to calm down and drink my soup, an interesting new concoction of Andy's full of barley, carrots, and celery, which was downright delicious despite its relative ingredients.

"But Jesse, Paul fits into this somewhere, I know he does," I whined as Jesse searched for my latest edition of _Cosmo_ (which Madam Zara had so graciously misplaced). "If that asshole isn't trying to screw up our lives with his new techniques, then I'll…I'll eat my head."

At this Jesse let out a thoroughly undignified snort and stumbled over his own foot. "I would be interested in seeing that," he chortled. He found one of my older editions of _Cosmo_ and handed it to me, fighting to keep his face straight. Oh, ha ha, how funny this all was.

"And what about all that stuff about me not just loving one person for all eternity?" I think my voice raised several octaves out of a slight hysteria. "I can't! I won't! I love you Jesse, not anyone else!"

"I love you too, _querida_," Jesse said soothingly, sitting down on the bed and taking my hands in his. "And I believe you. Besides, she may not be correct, this psychic woman. You just need some rest; it's been a long day for you."

"But, Jesse, I —"

"But nothing _querida_," said Jesse sternly. "I will be back in the morning…well, I'll also be here all night…just don't try anything. I'll be watching you."

He said the last part in a mock-scary voice, making me smile despite the cesspool of thoughts whirling around my mind. I finished up the last of my soup, trying to think only of the article I was reading (_Long Distance Relationships: How to make the Magic Work_), and went to bed. I didn't dream.

"Father Dom, seriously, I think I should shift up there to find out what's wrong,"

It was Monday, and I'd spent all of Sunday contemplating where to begin in unwinding all the chaos Madam Zara had talked about. I figured the first thing would be to go up to the spectral plane and, well…sucker-punch the ass hole that was screwing around with it. Of course, it wasn't necessarily a person since the Madam hadn't specified, but we had a good idea of whom it might be if it was.

"Paul is messing it up," I continued, trying to be rational with Father Dominic and revealing Paul's true colors at the same time. "He's a shifter, a shifter who shifts, and a shifter who shifts a lot not knowing the consequences of his shifting!" Father D's lips twitched. Oh, gosh, this was _so_ not the time to laugh at my lack of explanatory skills! "Father Dominic," I said urgently. "Let me shift up there to see if he's doing it, and if he's not, hey, I'll see if I can fix whatever is!"

Not my usage of the word 'what' instead of 'who'. Paul, being the devil's plaything, can't really be construed as a 'who', so, naturally, he's a 'what'. Haha, for my state of freaked-out-ness, I wasn't too bad with _inventing_ words or meanings. It was stringing together the real ones I had trouble with.

"I'm not sure," mused the good father. "It seems a little…risky, for lack of a better word." Ha, more word fun. "I don't know that it's safe for you to try it, noble as your intentions are."

"But that's just it!" I cried, lifting my Calvin Klein adorned body out of the chair in front of the priest's desk. "There are these Forces…Dr. Slaski told me about them…and they can tell your 'intentions', and decide whether or not they're dubious enough that you should suffer. How cool is that, and how much easier could it be!"

I took a moment to breath. Father Dom looked like he was pretty confused, lost in thought and all with that wrinkle in his forehead.

"Can I trust you Susannha?" he said finally. I was a bit shocked. I mean, sure, I lie sometimes, but all for the good of the spirits of the dead…

"Yeah, why shouldn't you?" I asked.

"Because Jesse came to me last night," As great as I am at lying and disguising feelings, I couldn't help but let my eyes grow a little wide then.

"Yeah…so?"

"Well, he told me that the psychic said your love was endangered," Father D. leaned over like he was a judge in court. "Why would she say that when you claim to not love Jesse?"

I tried, I really did, but the shifty and desperate glances around the office were too many and too frequent for Father Dominic to buy another word I could've said. He threw his hands up and rose from his chair.

"Susannah, how could you?" he shouted, though not loud enough for any of the secretaries to hear him; besides, I think the man's office is soundproof. "I trusted you, I believed you, and you told me this great an untruth! How am I ever supposed to trust you again when you lie about such things as the danger of your own dignity and innocence living in your own room?"

At this point, Father Dom took his own deep breath, and I seized the opportunity to speak.

"Father Dom," I protested. "Jesse is _not_ a danger to my innocence or my dignity, whether or not he's in my room. He's too noble and old-fashioned." Shame, too. "Please, just…_please_ let him stay, I swear we won't do anything, I swear on…on the cat!"

Ack, horrible. Let's try again. "Okay, so I don't, but you _have_ to take my word on this Father Dominic, we won't do _any_thing,_ please_ believe me!"

I think my insistence and pleading meant something to Father Dom, because he looked like a man who regretted giving up. I was kind of giving up, too, you know, on the whole not-being-allowed-anywhere-near-second-base-because-we-swore-to-the-priest-we-wouldn't thing. But whatever, there were bigger things happening.

"All right, Susannah," Father Dom sighed. "I'll let Jesse stay with you for now. As for the shifting…I'm still not sure. Try nothing until I say so."

I gave Father D. that look that clearly said, "Yeah, right," and tilted my head to the side, raising my eyebrows like I didn't believe him. He returned The Look.

"Do we have a deal?" He said sternly. I nodded. "Off to class with you, then," Father Dominic said, getting up from his desk and escorting me to the door. I didn't even look back at him as I left. Paul found me in the hallway, as he always did, as I was walking back.

"What do you want, Slater?" I said acidly.

"Whoa, someone seems a little moody," said Paul, backing away from me a bit. "What gives?"

"I'm just not in the mood," I snapped. "Not that I ever am."

"That's fine, that's fine," he said. "Just wanted to let you know that that psychic paid me a visit last night."

That made stop dead in my tracks. "W—what?"

"You know. Madam Zara. The one Jack met? Yeah, she left me some cryptic message that she said _you_'d decipher. How about it?"

"Not a chance."

Paul grinned and cocked his head to the side. Ugh, I hate it when he does that!

"_The disturbances are one_," he said. "_When you realize your destiny you shall realize then and only then how to rid us of it. Do so wisely, for they do not leave idly_."

What followed was a totally awkward silence. I was working on the riddle; Paul seemed to be watching my reaction.

"This…I…" More stuttering. I suck at speaking nowadays.

"You what?" Paul asked, smirking more still.

"I...I don't know!" I sat down on one of the benches near the breezeway. "I have absolytely no idea what that message means! Heck, I don't know what to do about the one she already gave me! Speaking of which…get away from me."

I stood up as fast as I'd sat down and took several steps back from Paul. I must've looked pretty scared…I was. Because I'd just remembered that Paul might be that interference in my destiny…the only thing between me and Jesse. I was breathing heavily, though all I'd done was walked and sat down.

"What's the matter Suze?" Paul asked, looking smug though I knew he couldn't fathom what was wrong with me. "I got cooties all of a sudden?"

"Paul, just…go, okay?"

He pouted. I so wanted to slap him, but it would mean too many questions. I decided to shoo him away while pondering the riddle on my way back to class some more.

"Leave me alone for a bit," _The disturbances are one_. "I mean, I'm kinda stressed, all right?" _When you realize your destiny you shall realize then and only then how to rid us of it._ That was the important part. "And quit looking like you know everything. Do you have any sort of idea what Madam Zara was talking about?" _Do so wisely, for they do not leave idly. _

"No," said Paul with a chuckle. "But I know you're going to tell me."

And then, out of nowhere, it hit me like a bolt of lightning. I practically fell all over again like I had on Saturday. It took a few seconds to control myself before I spoke to Paul again.

"You think that," I said coldly, walking past him. World Civ was just behind the Devil Boy. "I don't trust you, you know. I never have and never will. No matter what Madam Zara says, you're pure evil, Paul. I know that, and there's nothing you can do to change it."

I walked into class, where he couldn't get to me. Once I gave Mr. Walden my pass and sat down, I mulled over my discovery. It was so intricate, so brilliant, and so obvious, I couldn't believe it. I had to go there, I had to fix it…but I'd told Father Dominic I wouldn't…I'd told him I wouldn't shift yet…

Like that had ever stopped me before.

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Cliffy! Or some variation of one anyway…yeah, anyway, I know it's not my best work, but the plot thickens in the next chapter…I think it'll be the start of a climax. Fun!**

**WhiteRabbit5- **That's okay! As long as you're reviewing now, I'm happy! Long reviews are GREAT, and well appreciated by this here author. I just said I'd abandoned review response here because the reviews tend to be on the short side. Madam Zara is intriguing, isn't she? I just love her, I had to put her here. I'm sorry to say my updates aren't super frequent, but I'm trying to be consistent and update at least once a month!

**emlythekool****…****Iluvjds**- Three long reviews at once! That deserves a prize. :hands emly an official FBI sweater…well, I think it's official…: You caught me! At the time you wrote that review for chapter seven…well, actually, at the time I wrote chapter seven…I didn't really know what nonplussed meant so I sort of just used it for the sake of using it. It's a cool word! I know now, though, so I can use it better. Thanks for catching me! Glad you like the sotry! You do know that you already reviewed chapter eight, right? Oh, well, glad to make you feel special all over again! And now, your name is in this fic yet again! w00t! You know, I really think I have a fan in you…YEASS. My head doesn't itch when I'm confused, but my eyebrow does…idk maybe it's the scar next to it (omg Jesse! Except mine is like, invisible and it's next to my eyebrow…wait, how stupid am I, I have one through my eyebrow too! It's like a landing strip, I swear…). I need to read the next chappie of your sotry…sorry I didn't! D.C. trip and all…packing and stuff on the day I got your author alert I believe. Anyway, once our internet stops being screwy, I'll get to it, I will!

**Lollilicious****- **DUDE I love your new penname! You mean you'd actually think of writing a Paul/Suze fanfic…:gasp: I swell with pride at your compliments on my style. It's cool to know that I have something unique that grabs the reader. Yeah, the angry/sad stuff is a bit tough, but this story doesn't deal with all that as much as oh, I dunno, Haunted maybe… haha, Suzeish. The perfect word. I know what you mean though, and I'm blushing, frankly. Well, as much as my fabulous skin tone will let me. Being Indian rocks. omg that whole exy/sexy thing seriously made me laugh out loud when I read the review. I'm _still_ pure…does that mean I'll be corrupted like you someday…? Well, that's fun for me, innit? Thanks for the warning, though…:is very scared:

**And thanks to all my other reviewers: CattyCat, Roomate153, moovalous3, nikki007, and Jersey Princess (:wink:)! YOU ALL ROCK! **


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